Heritage team member Anne Kinney
invited colleagues to participate in this special
component of the Hubble Heritage Project. They were
instrumental in selecting the 3 edge-on galaxies
which 8000 people voted on between January 6 and
February 14, 1999. These guest observers helped
aim the telescope at the winning polar-ring galaxy,
NGC 4650A, by working out many of the technical
details. (Some challenges
of aiming the telescope are described by P.C.
Mike Asbury.) This science team is currently
doing the scientific analysis of these data and
their results will be posted as soon as they are
available. The Hubble Heritage asked the NGC 4650A
science team to introduce themselves to you.

Our polar ring Heritage science team shares common
interests in the origins and evolutionary processes
in galaxies. Within this general area we have different
specialities. For example, Gallagher and Matthews
work with images to measure structures of galaxies,
Kinney focuses on interpreting the spectra produced
by stars and other processes in galaxies, while
Sparke is a theorist who seeks to understand the
way that gravity acts to produce the observed structures
and motions in galaxies. We also share connections
to Wisconsin, and our group enjoys gathering on
the shores of Lake Mendota in Madison.